Black Maternal Health Conference & Training Institute

Founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), the Black Maternal Health Conference and Training Institute^TM (BMHC22) is the premiere assembly for Black women, clinicians, professionals, advocates, and other stakeholders working to improve maternal health using the birth justice, reproductive justice, and human rights frameworks. This year’s conference will be hybrid (virtual and in-person) and will offer a national space for learning, rich discussions, and mobilization to transform Black Maternal Health, rights, and justice. We need a place to be in community together, to vision and dream, and to celebrate each other.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 700 women die each year in the United States as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications. Even more alarming are the racial and ethnic disparities that exist in pregnancy-related deaths. In 2019, Black women were most disproportionately affected with a mortality rate of 44.0 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, and 12.6 deaths per 100,000 live births for White and Hispanic women, respectively. However, statistics alone do not paint the full picture of the historical and lived experiences of those most impacted by maternal morbidity and mortality. This public health issue is preventable!

The BMHC22 theme, “Building for Liberation: Centering Black Mamas, Black Families and Black Systems of Care”, reflects BMMA’s work in centering Black women’s scholarship, maternity care work, and advocacy across the full-spectrum of sexual, maternal, and reproductive health care, services, programs, and initiatives. Additionally, the 2022 theme reflects the critical need for learning about Black Feminist and womanist approaches in strengthening wellness structures within our communities and across the Diaspora as a revolutionary act in the pursuit of liberation, and in the global fight to END maternal mortality.

The 2022 Black Maternal Health Conference and Training Institute^TM meets a national need for a forum dedicated to Black Maternal Health and Black people working to improve our outcomes. To date, discussions about Black Maternal Health have been carved into existing reproductive, maternal, and public health conferences where there is little space for meaningful dialogue and limited framing on health equity and reproductive justice. BMMA has created that space with BMHC22 and we center Black Mamas’ voices and experiences in all activities. This conference is for us, by us!

BMHC22 will be segmented into five tracks:

• Holistic Care & Clinical Innovation
• Policy/Advocacy
• Research/Evaluation
• Culture Shift/Creative
• Special Topics

The goals of BMHC are to:

• Build capacity of Black leaders in maternal health to shape programs, policy, and care, and to engage in evidence-based advocacy
• Disseminate best practices to address critical issues in Black maternal health from different sectors, including research, care, policy, and culture shift
• Grow a community and network of stakeholders committed to improving Black Maternal Health
• Cultivate a space of love, respect and listening that centers the voices and experiences of Black Mamas, Black Birthworkers, Black scholars, and Black women leaders.

Learn more about the event here.